Control for captive toy airplanes



May 21, 1968 M. 0. DE vos CONTROL FOR CAPTIVE TOY AIRPLANES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 1, 1965 INVENTOR. )7476'6] 0. Fe 05 May 21, 1968 M. 0. DE vos CONTROL FOR CAPTIVE TOY AIRPLANES S y ,3 M m g 0 m W w m s 7. 2 J .m 4%

Filed Sept. 1, 1965 United States Patent 3,383,791 CONTROL FOR CAPTIVE TGY AHRPLANES Marcel 0. De Vos, 19922 E. Williams Court, Grosse Pointe Woods, h'iich. 43236 Continuation-impart of application fier. No. 450,092, Apr. 22, 1965. This application Sept. 1, 1965, Ser. No. 484,276

8 Claims. (Cl. 46-77) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for controlling a captive miniature airplane through flexible guide lines between the control device and the airplane and having a connector rotatably mounted on a housing and including .a first portion for connection to one guide line and having a guide opening through which extends the outer end portion of an actuating member mounted in the housing and to the outer end of which another guide line may be connected and which actuating member rotates on its mounting as the control device is swung above the operators head to maintain the guide lines in proper relation without twisting or fouling enabling the operator to stand still while the airplane circles him.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Ser. No. 450,092, filed Apr. 22, 1965, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a flight control for captive type toy airplanes and, more particularly, to a control device of this type which eliminates the necessity for the operator to circle or rotate with each rotation of the plane in order to maintain control of the ailerons of the plane.

Planes which are flown on very short lines have heretofore required the operator to turn or spin around with each revolution of the plane in order to maintain control of the ailerons. This usually resulted in the operator becoming dizzy and limited the number of times the plane could be circled. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a control device in which the plane may be circled any number of times without requiring the operator to rotate his body with each rotation of the plane.

Another object of this invention is to provide a control device which will maintain control of the plane while providing means for preventing the lines between the control device and plane from becoming twisted or otherwise fouled up.

The various objects and advantages, and the novel details of construction of one commercially practical embodiment of the invention, will become more apparent as this description proceeds, especially when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a View showing the control device of this invention in use in controlling a toy airplane;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the toy airplane with its control means associated therewith;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the control device for the airplane;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary detail sectional view taken substantially on the plane indicated by line 44 in FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the airplane control means.

While the present invention relates to control means for captive toy airplanes, only one typical type of toy airplane will be briefly referred to by reference to FIG- URE 2. The fuselage it) contains a motor (not shown) Patented May 21, 1968 which drives a propeller 11. The reference character 12 indicates the wings of the airplane and the reference character 13 indicates the rear ailerons or elevators. One simple means for actuating these elevators is shown by mounting them on a shaft 15 to which is connected a lever 16. The lever 16 is connected by a rod 17 to a control lever 14 pivo-tally mounted intermediate its ends, as indicated at 14a. Intermediate its ends the control lever 14 is connected by an extension 18 to the rod 17 so that rocking movement of the control lever 14 will raise or lower the elevators 13. It is obvious, however, that any other specific type of toy airplane may be employed.

As set forth at the beginning of the specification, it is an object of this invention to provide a control device for the plane which will eliminate the necessity for the operator to circle or rotate with each rotation of the plane in order to maintain control of the ailerons or elevators of the plane.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the operator need only to tate his arm overhead in a circular motion to create a whip action which brings the plane to flight speed. The plane can then be controlled and made to perform and maneuver by manipulating the trigger mechanism on the control device.

The control device actuates the control lever 14 to raise or lower the ailerons or elevators and thus control the flight of the plane.

The control device 25 of this invention consists of a preferably pistol-shaped device provided with a barrel 26, a handle 27 and a trigger portion 23.

The gist of the invention consists in providing means whereby the control lever 14 may be actuated to cause a raising or lowering of the elevators 13 without the necessity of the operator rotating with the plane and without the possibility of the control lines becoming twisted.

The pistol-shaped control device is preferably made of plastic and formed in two halves which are secured together by a plurality of bolts or fasteners 29. The muzzle end of the barrel 26 is provided with an annular portion 30 provided with an annular groove 31 which engages an annular rib 32 on a bushing 33 to secure the latter to the muzzle 26. The bushing 33 is also preferably formed of some suitable plastic material. The bushing 33 is provided with an annular recess 34 adapted to rotatably receive the loop portion 35 of a floating eye connector indicated generally by the reference character 36. The end of the floating eye connector 36 opposite the loop portion 35 is provided with a flat loop 37 and terminates in a second end loop 38 arranged in close proximity to the flat loop 37.

A flexible guide line of silk, cord or the like 39 is secured to the loop 38 and the other end of this guide line is connected as at 41? to one end of the control lever 14.

It will be understood that when the plane is in flight, the centrifugal force applied to the guide line 39 will exert a force on this guide line which will tend to rotate the control lever 14 in a counterclockwise direction. The control device 25 is adapted to manipulate the control lever 14 against this centrifugal force, as will be later pointed out.

Contained in the barrel portion 26 of the member 25 is an actuating member, indicated generally by the reference character 41, which may be formed of any suitable plastic, such as nylon, polyethylene, polypropylene, or any of the polyamide resins. This actuating member has a rigid portion 42 and a flat, flexible portion 43 which extends through the bushing 33. This flat, flexible portion 43 extends through the flattened loop 37 of the floating eye connector so that it is nonrotatably associated therewith and its end is provided with a perforated eye 40 to which the end of a flexible guide line 44 is connected.

With the construction just described, it will be apparent that the flat end 43 of the actuating member 41 is nonrotatably associated with the floating eye connector 36 and that because of the proximity of the looped end 38 thereto, the two control lines 39 and 44 are arranged close to one another. Thus, when the control device 25 is tilted or rocked during the control of the airplane, the length of the lines 39 and 44 will not be altered to any great extent.

During operation of the plane, the floating eye connector 36 rotates about the bushing 33 by reason of the engagement of the looped portion 35 with the annular recess or groove 34.

The inner end of the actuating member 41 is provided with a reduced neck portion 45 terminating in a ball portion 46 which engages an aperture 47 in the upper end of the trigger member 28. The trigger member is biased in the direction shown in full lines in FIGURE 3 against a stop 48 preferably carried by one of the fasteners 29 by a spring 49.

When the trigger 28 is pulled so as to move the same in a counterclockwise direction, it moves the actuating member toward the left, as viewed in FIGURE 3. This lengthens the flexible guide line 44 and permits the control lever 14 to rotate on its pivot 14:: because of the centrifugal force applied to the other end of the lever through the guide line 39. Normally, the airplane will be launched with the trigger 28 in an intermediate position in which the elevators would be in a horizontal plane. Thereafter, it the trigger 28 is operated further in a counterclockwise direction, the guide line 4-4 will be lengthened and the elevators will be operated so as to cause the plane to descend. If the trigger is moved in an opposite-direction, the elevators will be moved to a position which will cause the plane to rise.

Because the flattened end 43 of the actuating member extends through the flattened loop 37, it will not rotate, so that the lines 39 and 44 will not become twisted. Also, by placing the loop 38 closer to the loop 37, the lines 39 and 44 are arranged close to one another so that when the control gun is tilted or rocked, the length of the lines 39 and 44 will not be altered to any great extent.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that the operator may operate and control the airplane as indicated in FIGURE 1 and thus need not rotate with the plane, which causes dizziness.

This same basic design could also be adapted to a pylon or central stand with a control line attached to the trigger which could be located outside the circular path of the plane. Thus, the plane could be triggered in a similar manner, which would allow the operator to fly a motorized plane from outside the flight path.

While one commercially practical embodiment of the invention has been described and illustrated herein somewhat in detail, it will be understood that various changes may be made as may come within the purview of the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A manually operable control device for a captive miniature airplane having adjustable elevators and control means for said elevators comprising a control lever pivotally mounted in said airplane intermediate the ends of said lever and means connecting said lever to said elevators so that movement of said lever in opposite directions will actuate said elevators, and which control device enables an operator to control the airplane while standing still without turning as the airplane circles, said control device comprising a housing, a floating connector rotatably mounted on said housing, an actuating member mounted in said housing for axial movement and extending outwardly of said housing through said rotatable mounting of said connector, said connector having a first portion adapted to be connected by a first flexible guide line to one end of said control lever of said airplane and a second portion spaced from said first portion and defining an opening through which the outer end portion of said actuating member extends and is guided thereby, the outer end of said actuating member being adapted to be connected by a second flexible guide line to the other end of said control lever of said airplane, and manually controlled means carried by said housing for extending and retracting said actuating member for controlling the movement of said elevators through said control lever.

2. A device as described in claim 1 which is generally pistol shaped and includes a barrel portion having said connector rotatably mounted at the outer end thereof, a handle portion adapted to be grasped by an operator, and a trigger portion forming a part of and for operating said manually controlled means.

3. A device as described in claim 1 in which said manually controlled means is connected to said actuating member for rotary movement relative thereto.

4. A device as described in claim 1 in which at least one of said connector portions is spaced from the axis of the rotatable mounting of said connector on said housing whereby a. force exerted thereon through one of said guide lines may cause said connector to rotate on its mounting on said housing.

5. A device as described in claim 1 in which said second portion of said connector is offset from the axis of the rotatable mounting of said connector on said housing and said outer end portion of said actuating member is flexible and extends through said rotatable mounting and through said opening defined by said second portion of said connector.

6. A device as described in claim 1 in which said second portion of said connector defining said opening and said end portion of said actuating member extending through said opening cooperate to prevent rotation of said actuating member in said opening relative to said connector while permitting said actuating member to be extended and retracted through said opening.

7. A device as described in claim 1 in which said portions of said connector are closely spaced so that the guide lines will be close to one another and tilting of the cont-r01 device will not alter the length of the guide lines to any great extent.

8. A device as described in claim 2 in which said actuating member includes a rigid portion disposed within and movable longitudinally of said barrel portion and wherein said outer end portion of said actuating member is flat and the shape of said opening defined by said second portion of said connector is similar to the cross sectional shape of said fiat outer end portion of said actuating member and said second portion of said connector coo erates with said flat outer end portion so that said actuating member and said connector rotate together relative to said housing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1962 Sanborn 46-77 11/1963 Kretzmer 4677 

